US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO2070

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 002070 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INL; JUSTICE FOR OIA, AFMLS, AND NDDS; 
TREASURY FOR FinCEN; DEA FOR OILS AND OFFICE OF DIVERSION 
CONTROL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR, CE 
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: INPUT FOR INCSR 
 
REF: A. STATE 209558 
 
1. The information in this cable is keyed to Reftel. 
 
2. (Part I) Summary.  Sri Lanka has a relatively small-scale 
drug problem. The Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) remains 
committed to targeting drug traffickers and implementing 
nation-wide demand reduction programs. In 2005, the U.S. 
government strengthened its relationship with Sri Lanka on 
counternarcotics issues by offering training and seminars 
for the Sri Lanka Police.  After the 2002 ceasefire 
agreement between the GSL and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil 
Eelam (LTTE), a comparatively relaxed security environment 
led to the opening of a new overland drug trafficking route. 
LTTE officials continue to police and monitor the route. 
Although Sri Lanka has signed the 1988 UN Drug Convention, 
Parliament had not enacted implementing legislation for the 
convention as of the end of 2005. 
 
3. (Part II) Status of Country.  Sri Lanka is not a 
significant producer of narcotics or precursor chemicals. 
GSL officials continue to raise internal awareness of and 
vigilance against efforts by drug traffickers attempting to 
use Sri Lanka as a transit point for illicit drug smuggling. 
Domestically, officials are addressing a modest drug problem, 
consisting of heroin, cannabis, and increasingly, Ecstasy. 
 
4. (Part III. 23.2) Policy Initiatives. In 2005, Sri Lanka 
made progress in further implementing its counternarcotics 
strategy, developed in 1994. The lead agency for 
counternarcotics efforts, the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB), 
is headquartered in the capital city of Colombo.  The GSL 
remains committed to on-going efforts to curb illicit drug 
use and trafficking. 
 
5. (Part III. 23.2.a)  Accomplishments. The PNB and Excise 
Department worked closely to target cannabis producers and 
dealers, resulting in several successful arrests. The PNB 
warmly welcomed and was an active partner in U.S.-sponsored 
training for criminal investigative techniques and 
management practices. 
6. (Part III, 23.2.a continued)  Sri Lanka continued to work 
with South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation 
(SAARC) and the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime 
(UNODC) on regional narcotics issues. SAARC countries met in 
Maldives in early 2004 and agreed to establish an interactive 
website for the SAARC Drug Offense Monitoring Desk, located 
in Colombo, for all countries to input, share, and review 
regional narcotics statistics. GSL officials maintain 
continuous contact with counterparts in India and Pakistan, 
origin countries for the majority of drugs in Sri Lanka. 
 
7. (Part III 23.3.a) Law Enforcement Efforts. The PNB 
continued close inter-agency cooperation with the Customs 
Service, the Department of Excise and the Sri Lankan Police 
to curtail the illicit drug supply lines and local drug 
dealers and users. As a result of these efforts, GSL 
officials arrested 9,519 heroin dealers and 9,168 cannabis 
dealers from January to October of 2005.  The largest heroin 
haul was 11.5 kilograms, valued locally at around $402,500. 
The Sri Lanka Navy made the interdiction in Mannar, where 
a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadre was caught 
with the package of heroin. This year around forty kilograms 
of heroin were confiscated in Mannar alone.  Law enforcement 
officials did not make any Ecstasy-related drug arrests this 
year. 
 
8. (Part III, 23.3.a continued) Apart from its Colombo 
headquarters, the PNB has one sub-unit at the Bandaranaike 
International Airport near Colombo, complete with 
operational personnel and a team of narcotics-detecting 
dogs. Greater vigilance by PNB officers assigned to the 
airport sub-station led to increased arrests and narcotics 
seizures from suspected drug smugglers. During the year, the 
PNB began the process of establishing additional sub- 
stations to combat trafficking. The next two substations, at 
the international port in Colombo and the northwest coastal 
town of Mannar, will be operational shortly. Future sub- 
stations will also be located in cannabis-growing regions. 
 
9. (Part III 23.4.a) Corruption. A government commission, 
established to investigate bribery and corruption charges 
against public officials, temporarily resumed operations in 
2004.  In June of this year, the Police Narcotics Bureau, 
along with police stations island-wide, began "Operation 
Clean-Up" to apprehend drug peddlers and users. All police 
stations and divisions are taking part in this effort. 
Police investigations revealed that a sub-inspector of 
police has earned significant profit from his involvement 
with a gang of drug dealers. This officer has been suspended 
from the service, and a special police team is conducting an 
investigation into his conduct. In addition, investigations 
also continue in the case of two police constables caught 
smuggling cannabis. 
 
10. (Part III 23.4.b) The GSL did not, as a matter of 
policy, encourage or facilitate the illicit production or 
distribution of any controlled substances or the laundering 
of proceeds from illegal drug transactions.  There were no 
reports that any senior official engaged in such activity or 
encouragement thereof.  There were no INL-funded aircraft or 
equipment in country. 
 
11. (Part III 23.5) Agreements and Treaties. Sri Lanka is a 
party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention and the 1990 SAARC 
Convention on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. 
The Attorney General's Office is expected to submit a draft 
of the implementing legislation to the Ministry of Justice 
and Judicial Reforms by year's end.  The Justice Minister is 
then slated to seek Cabinet approval and present the 
legislation as a bill to Parliament by the first quarter of 
2006. 
 
12. (Part III, 23.5 continued) Sri Lanka is also a party to 
the 1961 UN Single Convention, as amended by the 1972 
Protocol, and the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic 
Substances. Sri Lanka has signed, but has not yet ratified, 
the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and 
is a party to the UN Convention Against Corruption. An 
extradition treaty is in force between the U.S. and Sri Lanka. 
 
13. (Part III 23.6) Cultivation/Production. Small quantities 
of cannabis are cultivated and used locally. There is little 
indication that this illicit drug is exported. The majority 
of the production occurs in the southeast. PNB and Excise 
Department officials work together to locate and eradicate 
cannabis crops.  PNB officials also sought to set up sub- 
stations in order to limit trafficking through vulnerable 
regions. 
 
14. (Part III 23.7) Drug Flow/Transit. Some of the heroin 
entering Sri Lanka is solely for transshipment purposes. 
With the opening of the northwestern coastal waters after 
the ceasefire between the GSL and the LTTE, narcotics 
traffickers have taken advantage of the short distance 
across the Palk Strait to transit drugs from India to Sri 
Lanka. According to police officials, drugs are mainly 
transported across the strait and then overland to southern 
coastal towns, from where they are transported onward by 
sea.  Mannar is considered the primary port of entry for 
narcotics.  The PNB is attempting to control the area better 
with the upcoming opening of a sub-station there. With no 
coast guard, however, Sri Lanka's coast remains highly 
vulnerable to transshipment of heroin moving from India. 
 
15. (Part III 23.7 continued) Police officials state that 
the international airport is the second major entry point 
for the transshipment of illegal narcotics through Sri 
Lanka. There is no evidence to date that synthetic drugs are 
manufactured in Sri Lanka. Police note that the Ecstasy 
found in Colombo social venues is likely trafficked from 
Thailand. 
 
16. (Part III 23.8) Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). 
The National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB) began 
establishing task forces in each regional province to focus 
on the issue of drug awareness and rehabilitation at the 
community level. Each task force works with the existing 
municipal structure, bringing together officials from the 
police, prisons, social services, health, education and NGO 
sectors. For the first time in 2004, NDDCB officials visited 
the war-affected northern and eastern provinces to assess 
the local situation and investigate the possibility of 
establishing treatment centers in those regions. The GSL 
continued its support, including financial, of local NGOs 
conducting demand reduction and drug awareness campaigns. 
The Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) instituted an annual drug 
awareness week in June 2005.  The programs focused on school 
children as well as recent secondary school graduates. The 
PNB is making preparations to organize other drug awareness 
programs as well, including counseling to tsunami victims in 
the south and east of Sri Lanka.  With the help of Police 
Divisions throughout the country, the PNB implemented a 
successful public awareness program at the village level 
about the adverse repercussions of narcotics use. 
 
17. (Part IV 24.1) Policy Initiatives. The USG remained 
committed to helping GSL officials develop increased 
capacity and cooperation for counternarcotics issues 
although bilateral efforts were hindered by INL funding 
cuts. The USG also continued its support of the regional 
Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Program, which conducts regional 
and country-specific training seminars, fostering 
communication and cooperation throughout Asia. 
 
18. (Part IV 24.2) Bilateral Cooperation. In 2004, the USG 
implemented a law enforcement development program with PNB. 
Over 200 police officers participated in training seminars. 
Pursuant to bilateral letters of agreement between the USG 
and the GSL, the Sri Lanka police fulfilled their 
obligations. USG-trained Sri Lanka police replicated the 
seminars and scheduled training for colleagues of the 
original police trainees at the training academies and 
stations throughout the island.  In May of this year in Sri 
Lanka, the Colombo Plan sponsored a US-funded South Asian 
regional drug recovery conference for public health 
practitioners. 
 
19. (Part IV 24.2 continued) Road Ahead. The U.S. government 
intends to maintain its commitment to aiding the Sri Lanka 
police to transition from a paramilitary force to a 
community-focused one, although INL funding cuts and the new 
Sri Lankan government's decision to move public functions 
back into the Ministry of Defense may complicate this 
effort. There is a continued need for additional assistance 
for training and for further dialogue between U.S. 
counternarcotics related agencies and their Sri Lankan 
counterparts, which have proven successful in combating 
narcotics in years past. The US expects to continue it 
support of the Colombo Plan. 
LUNSTEAD